Dear ladies, gentlemen and children, it is believed that practising good Chinese dining manners can bring health and good fortune. An ill-timed faux-pas at a dinner could hinder the forging of new deals or friendships. Let’s review together 10 mistakes to be avoided!
Not using serving chopsticks when sharing food
You may encounter on a situation when you sit by the lazy Susan and enjoy the dinner with your friends or family. When sharing food, you shouldn’t use your chopsticks to take the food from communal bowls and plates, for hygiene reasons. Instead of that, use serving chopsticks to put the food onto your plate/bowl. You may find them in the middle of the table, on the dishes or next to your personal chopsticks. Usually, they come in different colours.
Spitting bones on the table
In old traditional customs, people use to spit bones on the table, with a time that changed. Now, socially acceptable is to spit bones and other inedible parts on the plate or in the bowl. You could do that by shifting bones from your mouth onto the chopsticks and then onto the plate, in some cases , you can also use fingers. If you don’t have a plate for that, you could always ask the waiter to bring you one, a backup solution is to use a tissue.
Leaving the chopsticks anywhere
If you are having a break while you are eating, use the chopsticks rest and place them, if not, put the chopsticks on one side on the plate/bowl together and parallel. When you finish eating, place them in the middle of a plate in a tidy manner (together and parallel).
Speaking too loud while dining
We like to enjoy our food but sometimes we can be distracted by some noisy fellow dinners. It is best not to talk with others with your mouth full. Be temperate in laughing lest you spew your food or the food goes down your windpipe and causes choking. If you need to talk, you should speak little and quietly. Let others to enjoy their food.
Smoking while someone else is eating
These days you may notice that some people do not follow the smoking policy. Smoke only in restaurants with smoking sections, and it is acceptable to smoke freely there so long as you are not a nuisance to fellow diners. Try avoiding smoking in front of the ladies and children.
Slurping or burping while eating
Traditionally, this was considered as a compliment and an expression of enjoying the food but now it is considered rude. You still may express your satisfaction but verbally.
Using the chopsticks to explore a dish
Some people tend to move food around before they chose the most likeable morsel and bring it to their bowl/plate. We should not be a picky eater! Especially if we are not using the serving chopsticks! If you spot some special morsel, wait for the right moment when you can take it elegantly.
Not having proper sitting and dining posture
People tend to bend down close to the table when eating while they should sit up straight with elbows off the table. You should bring food to the mouth, not the other way around.
Using phone while dining
The proper etiquette says that we should not even put our phone on the table, especially not to use it while dining. It is disrespectful towards other dinner participants. Nowadays, it is modern to take a photo before eating, but avoid editing/posting picture while eating, do it afterwards. In case you are expecting a call, let others know you might use your phone during dinner, even then, feel free to leave a table until you finish that matter.
Picking teeth with a fingernail
You must have encountered on the following situation. While or after eating, a piece of food is stuck between your teeth. Then, please use a toothpick to solve this issue. And when you do so, use another hand to cover your mouth so nobody can see inside your mouth.
Dear food lovers, now you are all set to enjoy your next meal! Are there other dining mistakes that you noticed and we didn’t mention? Please share with us!
